The online store where you'll find great value and high quality gemstones.These are REAL gems, not fabricated in a lab. We encourage you to take a closer look at our special inventory and purchase the gemstone or piece of jewelry of your choice. We'll ship it out to you, right away.
Thank you for choosing us!
Add a little COLOR to your world, one gem at a time...™
Your source for genuine colored gemstones!
General Gemstone Information
Among the 60 or more different species of precious and semi-precious gemstones are: corundum (ruby and sapphire), beryl (aquamarine and emerald), diamond (white and fancy colored), spinel, sphene, chrysoberyl (alexandrite and cat's eye), peridot, tanzanite, garnet (color changing, demantoid, grossularite, mandarin, spessarite, and tsavorite), tourmaline (rubellite and indocolite), topaz, and zircon.
Others are: quartz (amethyst - prasiolite, citrine), chalcedony (agate and chrysoprase), feldspar (moonstone and labradorite), flourite, kunsite, kyanite, and scapolite, to name a few.
ALEXANDRITE: Color is typically a greenish Blue.
Alexandrite, Pearl, and Moonstone are the three birthstones noted for June.
This unique gemstone is known for its color changing effects and is one of the rarest of all colored gemstones.
A highly valued gemstone that shows many different colors when viewed from various directions. This beautiful gem displays a color change (alexandrite effect) dependent upon the nature of ambient lighting. Alexandrite effect is the phenomenon of an observed color change from greenish to reddish with a change in source illumination due physiological response of the human eye in a particular part of the visible spectrum. Alexandrite has an emerald-green color in daylight and will normally view as a unique reddish color in incandescent light.
A variety of Chrysoberyl that has a hardness of 7.5-8.5 on the Mohs scale and very suitable for all kinds of jewelry. Alexandrite, one of the birthstones for June, is typically found in much smaller carat weights than other colored gemstones. A gem over a half carat is rare. One carat or larger gems are extremely rare to find and very expensive. Green, blue, reddish blue, reddish green, greenish blue.
ANDALUSITE: Yellowish-Green, Green, Brownish-Red, Reddish-Brown are the colors of this gemstone.
This unique gemstone is named after Andalusia, where it was discovered, in the province of Spain.
A strong pleiochroic gemstone that shows many different colors when it's viewed from various directions. This beautiful gem is not necessarily known by the buying public. However, it's hardness of Mohs 7.5 is extremely suitable for all kinds of jewelry.
Andalusite has no known treatments to enhance it's color or clarity. Yellow-green, green, brownish-red, reddish brown
AMETHYST: Shades of Purple. From the most common light purple to the highly valued dark shades. Only a few deposits of genuine Amethyst has been found with nice reddish flashes and hues.
Purple Quartz - Amethyst is the birthstone for February.
Purple is considered a royal color, so amethyst has been much in demand throughout history. Amethyst are also known as the stones of friendship and are one of the most highly valued stones in the quartz group.
Quality stones come from Brazil, Uruguay, Russia, and Madagascar. Although it's considered a semi-precious stone, Amethyst is consistently among the best sellers of the quartz family.
Other stones in the quartz group include: Citrine, Smoky Quartz, Tiger-eye, Jasper, even the most desired, Opal.
AQUAMARINE: Light to Medium Blue is normal color. Dark Blue is rare and very desirable.
Aquamarine is the birthstone for the month of March.
It's named for the different shades of "sea water" and is the mineral species, Beryl. Emeralds are also of the Beryl family. Aquamarines come in various shades of blue, from very light or pale to greenish-blue, to medium dark blue.
This popular and beautiful gem receives its coloring from trace amounts of iron. The choice of color is largely a matter of taste, however the deeper blue gemstones are more rare. The saturation and color tones of aquamarine can be subtle and it's color intensity can make a big difference in price.
CITRINE: Light Yellowish Orange to a Dark Golden Orange and even a Reddish Orange color.
Citrine is one of the noted birthstones for the month of November. Yellow Topaz is also a birthstone for November.
This gemstone is a variety of Quartz. Gem quality Citrine in its natual state is very RARE. Most Citrine in todays market is either a heat-treated Smoky Quartz or Amethyst.
Citrine comes in a range of colors from a light yellow, to a golden orange, or a reddish orange. Its name is derived from the Citrin fruit (French) similar to the common lemon. The Mohs is a hardness of (7).
CLINOHUMITE: Brilliant Golden Orange color with great flame.
Faceted gem quality clinohumite can only be found in two deposits around the world: Northern Siberia and Tajikistan.
Clinohumite is one of the very rare gemstone. Only a few thousand carets of the clinohumite gemstone exist. It comes in a range of colors from brown, yellow, orange to red. Clinohumite ranges from transparent to translucent. The clinohumite gems that are found in Tajikistan are known for their slightly greater hardness (6) and are of better quality than the Siberian clinohumite gems.
EMERALD: A high quality Green gemstone, known as one of the three kings of colored gems. Graded as a Type III gemstone - mainly found with inclusions.
Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May.
Emeralds are usually considered to be more precious than diamonds. This is due to a large part to their scarcity and to the rare element of Beryllium, which is required to form the emerald. The most desired color is deep green. A gem of this color is more valuable even with it's inclusions over a cleaner stone that is more pale in color. It’s color is very stable, not necessarily changed by light or heat. The pigment that gives an emerald its fantastic green color is chrome or vanadium.
Emerald, part of the Beryl family, are some of the most valuable of all colored gemstones. Unlike many other gemstones, emeralds almost always contain some inclusions. Because of the way they grow, emeralds often contain; bubbles, "carbon" particles, and small foreign crystals. These are not necessarily faults, and they can directly indicate the genuineness of the gemstone. A perfectly clean emerald is almost never found! Obtain an emerald with good shimmer and you tuly have a valuable gem in your hands, inclusions or not.
Emerald deposits are found in Columbia (noted for the best gems), South Africa, Brazil, Australia, Pakistan, India, Tanzania, Zambia, and the U.S.A.
Never use an ultrasonic or steam cleaner for your emerald! A soft toothbrush with a mild detergent is very effective.
The "emerald cut" was developed for the sensitive nature of the gemstone reducing the risk of the stone being chipped.
GARNET: African Color Changing, Demantoid, Grossularite, Hessonite, Tsavorite, and Mandarin.
Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January.
Color change garnets are mostly pyrope and spessartite in composition. Their primary source is East Africa. A type II (Tanzanian) gemstone is increasing rising in price and popularity. The gemstones color change ranges from purplish blue to brownish red, and the most valued is the purplish blue to burgandy red.
Hessonite is a variety of the grossular, and the calcium aluminum mineral of the garnet group.
Spessartite Mandarin garnet, the brilliant orange garnet, are found in Namibia and Nigeria. Today, the Spessartite is one of the most popular of all garnets. Colors range from brillant orangish yellow to the fiery reddish orange. It is highly desired by collectors, jewelry designers and gem lovers.
Demantoid garnet is one of the most brilliant gemstones that exist. It's stated that the Demantiod is 1,000 times rarer than a diamond. The name, Demantoid, comes from Dutch meaning 'diamond-like, in reference to its incomparable brilliance and fire. Demantoid is always green, from a very strong yellowish green to more of a brillant green. Russian demantoid nearly always contains asbestos-type inclusions of chrysotile called "Horsetails". Unlike most inclusions which reduce the value of a gemstone, horsetail inclusions can substantially increase the value of a stone. Namibian demantoid does not generally contain horsetail inclusions. But the Namibians value is very strong. Demantoid is the most valued and expensive of all garnets!
Grosularite (Grossular) is the mint to lime green color garnet. It's super bright flashes can rival the Demantoid. Less expensive than the Demantoid and Tsavorite, it's brillience is never questioned.
Tsavorite is a florescent green grossular garnet. All natural Tsavorite of more than two carats is very rare and over a carat is highly valuable. It has a fresh, vivid green color, good wearing qualities, and great brilliance. The color range of the tsavorite runs from a light green, an intense blue-green to a deep forest green. Its green color becomes more and more popular among collectors and jewelry designers.
KUNZITE: A natural pinkish gemstone
Kunsite is a relatively new gemstone which has become popular with collectors and jewelers, alike. Its lilac-pink color comes from the element, manganese, and it has a high vivid lustre. Though hard (7 MOH), its perfect cleavage makes it somewhat fragile. It is usually faceted and heat treated to enhance its pink color. Kunsite comes from the family Spodumene.
MORGANITE: A natural lilac to salmon pink gemstone
A beautiful gemstone that was used and named after, Tiffiany & Companies good customer, JP Morgan. Now this gem is purchased by many gem collectors and used by jewelers everywhere. Its salmon hue is simply breath taking specially when used in a rose gold setting.
One of the beryls, Morganite has very good hardness rating, with a range of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. Its lilac-pink color comes from the element, manganese. It belongs to the same gem family as Aquamarine, Bixbite, Emerald, and Golden Beryl. Among these beryl types, Morganite is one of the rarest.
Morganite's color can vary from a light pink to violet to salmon or peach.
OPAL: Australian Lightning Ridge, African (Ethiopian), Mexican, and Brazil
Opal is the birthstone for October.
The amazing feature of opal is its beautiful opalescence, which is a rainbow-like iridescence which changes when viewed at different angles. It can display several flash patterns like a rolling rainbow spectrum or digital pattern.
The most valuable opals will have a fantastic play of color. Larger opals of good quality command high prices. A “Doublet” has very thin pieces of opal that are sometimes cemented to a backing of common opal Iron-stone or black onyx. These are not as valuable as regular opals of the same size, although they can be just as beautiful when viewed from the top.
The highest priced and those usually considered as the better quality of all opals are found in the Lightning Ridge area of Australia. Other key mines are in Africa and Brazil.
Opals can be divided into several different categories:
*Black N-1 to N-4 opals - Highest Value with Black to Dark Grey base, even Dark blue, or Dark green background that accentuates beautiful color play. (Lightning Ridge)
*Dark N-5 and N-6 (called Grey's or so-called Semi-Black) - Lighter Grey Base are precious opal with multi-color flashes of red, blue, orange, yellow, purple, and green’s. (Lightning Ridge)
*Crystal N-7 to N10 - Lighter White Base are precious opal with multi-color flashes of red, blue, orange, yellow, purple, and green’s. (Lightning Ridge)
*Boulder Opal- Opal that is naturally attached to the Iron-stone rock base it was formed in, which is of a different chemical makeup than a naturally formed opal.
*Fire Opal- Transparent opal of red or orange, showing no flashes of color, it is often facetted.
*Hydrophane Opal - (African) which becomes very transparent when placed in room temperature tap water for a period of time, by absorbing the water and then drying out again to its original state.
*Milk Opal - (African) Opal with brilliant color flashes inside a white, somewhat cloudy milky background.
Care instructions: Opal is a medium to soft stone, so care should be taken to avoid scratching it. Never use abrasives to clean the opal. A very soft toothbrush and mild soap will work best. If your opal is set in a ring, take it off when you do work that requires coming into contact with abrasive objects. Opal is sensitive to pressure, acids, and high heat, as well as quick temperature changes. An opal can contain up to 30% water and higher temperatures can evaporate the water, causing cracks and other damage.
No two opals are identical. It is an example of a soft gemstone which, because of its unparalleled beauty, has all the value of a much harder and more durable gemstone. The care it requires is certainly worth owning such a unique and beautiful gemstone.
PERIDOT: A yellowish to light or medium green gemstone.
Peridot is the birthstone for the month of August.
An ancient gemstone, often referred to as "chrysolite" from the Greek meaning "yellow stone". It only occurs in shades of green and its color cannot be modified by any form of treatment.
Smaller peridots around 1ct and even up to 2 cts in size are still relatively inexpensive and easy to find. However peridot in larger sizes is much more difficult to obtain. Therefore, the price of nice peridot increases greatly in the larger sizes.
PRASIOLITE: This transparent to translucent greenish gem worthy quartz is very beautiful. Good quality Prasiolite when set in jewelry, can be stunning.
This transparent to nearly opaque green form of quartz is very rare in nature. Prasiolite can also be created using heat treated amethyst. Most amethyst will turn yellow or orange when heated producing Citrine, a very popular gemstone. But, once in a while, some amethyst will turn a translucent green when treated.
Currently most all Prasiolite on the market results from an acceptable combination of heat treatment and ionizing radiation. Natural Prasiolite will be found in Brazil and Poland. It rates a 6.5-7.0 on the Mohs scale.
QUARTZ: Most gem worthy quartz is beautiful. But when mostly transparent, jewelers will use it in rings, pendants, and other jewelry.
Other stones in the quartz group include: Rose Quartz; Lemon quartz; Amethyst (Prasiolite, Citrine); Smoky Quartz; Tiger-eye; Jasper; even the most desired, Opal.
RUBY: Known as one of the three kings in the gemstone world. Rubies are pinkish red to vivid red.
Ruby is the birthstone for July.
Translucent gems are extremely rare and highly valuable. Buy one of these rubies from Africa or Mozambique. Ruby is named for its red color, Latin- Rubeus.
Rubies are rarer than sapphires, because the required pigment to make corundum red, chrome, is more rare than iron, the required pigment for sapphire.
Inclusions are common, and are not indicators of lower quality. The type of inclusion inside the ruby can often indicate its origin. It's not entirely possible to determine the rubies origin based solely on the gems color.
The mining of rubies can be found in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Africa, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Corundum, (both ruby and sapphire) is considered a "9" on the Mohs’ scale of hardness. Only a diamond, at a "10" rating, is a harder gem. However, corundum is only 1/140th as hard as diamond!
Ruby is one of the most expensive gems, as larger gems greater than 2 carets, can be very valuable. Some enhancements , such as glass-fill is used in the industry to bring out more or deeper red color. Non-enhanced with good color is more valuable.
SAPPHIRE: One of the three kings in the gemstone world. Sapphires come in a wide range of colors. Cashemere blue is the rarest color. Other colors are; royal blue, dark midnight blue, yellow, green, and more.
Sapphire is the birthstone for September.
Sapphires come in a wide range of colors; blue, pink, purple, orange, yellow, green, colorless(white), and black. The most expensive is the orange-pink sapphire called Padparadscha, meaning "lotus flower". Bi-Color is more rare and can be of good value.
Origin for sapphires are: Australia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Brazil, Cambodia, Tanzania, and in Montana, USA.
Sapphire is a favorite gemstone used by jewelers and gem collectors. This fine gemstone comes in a wide range of colors, with the most desired color of blue.
Corundum, (both sapphire and ruby) is considered a "9" on the Mohs’ scale of hardness. Only a diamond, at a "10" rating, is a harder gem. However, corundum is only 1/140th as hard as diamond!
SILLIMANITE: Cat's Eye / Golden Green
Sillimanite, is blue to green, with distinct pleochroism showing pale yellowish green, dark green, and blue from different angles. Crystals with slender prisms in parallel groups, resembling fibres, the material is called Fibrolite.
Blue and violet stones are found in Burma. Greenish to gray in Sri Lanka, and fibrolite in USA. Other mines include Brazil, Europe, and India. A hard stone (7.5 MOH), it is often cut in a cabochon for cat’s eye effect and made into jewelry.
Sillimanite is known as a collector's gem. Most jewelers have not had the opportunity to yet set this gemstone, although its becoming more known. It is related to both Andalusite and Kyanite. Sillimanite is not known to be enhanced by any treatment.
SPHENE: (Titinite) Golden Yellow / Golden Green
One of All Star Gemstones favorite gemstones, the Sphene comes in colors from light Green to a deep golden Yellow. This simply beautiful gemstone sometimes resembles the dispersion of a lighted Christmas tree. Colors that flash within the Sphene are; brilliant Greens, Greenish to bright Blues, Yellows, and Red flashes. A medium firm stone (5.0 - 5.5 MOH), it can be cut in various shapes, all that will display its beautiful spetrum of color flash.
Sphene is popular among jewelers and gem collector's, alike. The Sphene is not known to be enhanced by any treatment. Sphene has unusually high refractive index and because of it's high dispersion and refractive index, a well cut sphene can display stunning brilliance.
This gemstone features a "fire or flame" phenomena, - the special effect due to its dispersion and refers to the ability of the gemstone to draw light apart into its constituent colors. This works just like the glass prism that unfolds layers of sunlight into the rainbow by refraction.
Sources can come from: Pakistan; Italy; Russia; China; Brazil; Switzerland; Madagascar; Austria; Ontario, Canada; Maine, New York, and California, USA; and a few other locations.
SPINEL: All Natural... Red - Burmese, Pink - Tanzanian
(Natural Spinel has no special treatment added to these gemstones to intensify the color or clarity.)
Spinel is the newest gemstone to represent the birthstone option for the month of August.
Spinel is one of the most popular gemstones in today's market. Spinel can be found in various shades of red, pink, orange, blue, purple, lavender, grey, brown, and black. It's very highly valued and desired by customers, jewelers, and gem collectors alike.
The transparent reddish spinels were formerly called spinel-rubies. Because of its color and clarity, Spinel was often misidentified as a ruby or even a red sapphire. It should be noted however that natural spinel is never heated or treated by any other method, unlike most rubies and sapphires that are offered to the market today. In addition to beautiful red, pastel shades of pink and purple are very valuable.
After the late 18th century the definition of the word 'ruby' was only used for the red gem variety of the mineral corundum, and the gemstone 'spinel' stood on its own. Spinel is a very durable gemstone that is perfect for all jewelry uses.
The price of spinel has increased many fold over the past several years and is forecasted to steadily increase as the mining of this beautiful gem is nearly exhausted. It's popularity is noted all over the world and is sought out by many collectors and jeweler's of various countries. Obtaining any color of Spinel is most likely a very good venture. The red Burmese spinel is the most desired.
TANZANITE: A purplish blue gemstone that appears very blue in incandescent light. Graded as a Type I gemstone, which means no or very little inclusions should be found inside the gemstone.
Tanzanite is one of three birthstones noted for Demember.
Tanzandite was first discovered in Tanzania, East Africa. When first mined, Tanzanite is mostly blue although it can be a brownish-yellow color. It is usually heat-treated to permanently bring out its exotic violetish-blue color.
Tiffany and Company were the first to bring to market the zoisite gem under the name "Tanzanite", and since then this gemstone has greatly increased in popularity with gem collectors and jewelers. It is considered a rare gemstone since it is found in only one location, the Merelani Hills, just west of Mount Kilimanjaro.
TIGER'S EYE: A brownish stone of the quartz family.
A popular member of the quartz family that is usually striped, brown and gold with waves of shimering highlights.
TOPAZ: Comes in many colors such as; Sky Blue and Swiss Blue, plus the most popular, London Blue and Golden Imperial.
Yellow Topaz is one of two birthstones noted for November.
Blue Topaz is one of three birthstones noted for December.
Golden Topaz is called "Imperial Topaz" and is very popular and valued. Blue, once the most rare color of topaz, is much more available in todays marketplace. This is mostly due to a stable enhancement process that turns colorless topaz to shades of blue. After the topaz rough is extracted from the ground and cut, it is irradiated and then heated to blue. This enhancement process is permanent.
TOURMALINE: One of the most popular gemstones that is new to the market place.
Pink Tourmaline is the second birthstone for October.
It's one of the most desired and beautiful. It comes in many colors. Indicolite (Blue/Green), Mint Green, Neon Pink, Red, Blue, Paraiba Blue, Chrome (Green), and a few others are the most desired. Tourmaline is known as America's
It has a variety of rich colors greater than any other gem and is one of the most popular gemstones among jewelers and gem collectors.
Chrome Tourmaline, because of its Chromium (or Vanadium) content, is the most valuable of all green tourmalines with a price several times higher than the price of regular Green Tourmaline. That's why it is very important to make sure that what you are buying is a Chrome Tourmaline not just a "Green" Tourmaline.
Indicolite Tourmaline is one of the best Blue/Green gemstones one can own.
Mint Green Tourmaline is just one of the beautiful colors of Tourmaline. Set in a ring , pendant, or earrings, the mint green color is simply gorgeous.
Paraiba Tourmaline is most likely the most valuable of the tourmaline family. Paraiba is a light colored bluish green gemstone. Included Paraiba gemstones are very much the norm and are very excepted in the marketplace due to their rareness and popularity.
Tourmaline has tremendous color variation and pleochroism, that is, when rotated the stone appears to be different colors. Shades of both Pink and Reddish Pink are very desirable. Even included, these gems are in very high demand.
ZIRCON - Dark Blue - Cambodian, Natural Green - Burma
Zircon is regarded as the traditional birthstone for December.
The fiery, brilliance of zircon can rival any gemstone. Zircon is one of the heaviest gemstones, which means that it will weigh more than other stones with the same measurements.
The wide variety of colors of zircon are; Red, Blue, Yellow, Colorless, and a few more. Its rarity and beauty, along with its affordability make the Zircon a popular collector's stone and contributes to its growing popularity among jewelry designers and all gem lovers.
Due of its extreme brilliance and dispersion, the colorless zircon has been used as a substitute for diamond in jewelry. Natural zircon today suffers on account of the similarity of its name to "cubic zirconia", the laboratory-grown diamond imitation, which is NOT zircon! Many people are unaware that there is a beautiful natural gemstone called zircon.